Several Californians have run for president — and some visited SLO County on the way
As California became the most populous state in the union in 1962, two of her politicians were rising to national prominence.
Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were each elected to the U.S. presidency, in 1968 and 1980 respectively.
Now current Vice President Kamala Harris is likely to be the Democratic Party nominee for the 2024 election with the withdrawal of incumbent President Joe Biden.
Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland.
Nixon was born in 1913 in Yorba Linda but spent the latter years of his life in New York City.
Reagan was born in 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, and moved to California to pursue employment in films and government.
Nixon and Reagan each campaigned in San Luis Obispo County.
Harris gave a policy speech nearby at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
California has had other presidential hopefuls.
John C. Frémont was the first-ever Republican nominee for president in 1856 and was a U.S. senator from California, though like many residents of the then 6-year-old Gold Rush state, he was born out of state.
Though he lost to Democratic candidate James Buchanan, his strong showing was proof of viability for an anti-slavery candidate and lit a path for Abraham Lincoln in the next election.
Frémont’s slogan was “Free Soil, Free Men and Frémont.”
During the Mexican-American war, Frémont and his soldiers marched down Cuesta Grade into San Luis Obispo in a bloodless action that local residents were largely indifferent to.
The troop camped near the present day City Hall, and San Luis Obispo’s famed movie theater on Monterey Street now carries his name.
Other Californians who have made presidential bids but failed to win the nomination are former Govs. Jerry Brown, Hiram Johnson, Earl Warren and Pete Wilson.
Of all the politicians listed, Reagan probably had the deepest ties to San Luis Obispo County. He visited Cal Poly as governor and attended a number of events here. And the county is close to his longtime ranch in Santa Barbara County.
Judge William Clark Jr. of Shandon was a trusted adviser during Reagan’s terms as governor and president.
Local State Assemblywoman Carol Hallett served Reagan’s administration as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas and commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service.
Juanita Booker of Paso Robles sang the national anthem at Reagan’s first inauguration.
In 1976 Reagan ran against Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, which exposed fractures in the party. Ford would win the nomination but fall to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
When Reagan made a stop in Paso Robles, the Telegram-Tribune published two front-page stories. Bruce Kyse wrote about the candidate’s policy and applause lines.
A Memorial Day audience of roughly 2,000 came to River Road Ranch near Paso Robles, where Reagan was introduced by Clark.
Jeanne Huber wrote about the media entourage that follows national candidates.
Here is Huber’s story with a dated sexist headline from May 31, 1976:
Campaign trail: Newsmen just part of show
When candidate Ronald Reagan came to town, half the story was the retinue of national and foreign reporters who muscled around him.
They helped turn a rather normal North County affair — a roping contest, barbecue and afternoon of political speeches — into a peek at the Big Time for the 1,500 or so locals who came to cheer and eat beef.
Forty to 50 reporters and photographers who flew into Paso Robles on Reagan’s jet were joined by several dozen Central Coast reporters.
They heard Reagan deliver virtually the same speech he’s been using since the first presidential primary in New Hampshire.
But there was one novel element Saturday: the sight of the former movie star in cowboy gear, on horse.
“Just that one picture makes the whole day worth it,” said a photographer for Time, after he got a shot of Reagan waving from his favorite horse, Mr. Spats.
“The best shot will come when he falls off,” quipped a colleague, who never got his wish.
The press corps Saturday included more foreign reporters and fewer national reporters than usual, according to Timothy J. Wyngaard, a political writer for Scripps-Howard News in Washington, D.C.
“This whole thing is a TV event, and they picked the worst day of the week for it,” he explained. Saturday afternoon events on the West Coast are more than a day old by the time the television networks air their Sunday evening news.
Wyngaard said the foreign reporters — TV crews from Mexico, Sweden, France and Japan, and reporters from those countries plus Canada and possibly others — came along because the barbecue was “a good junket.”
Foreign newspapers and television stations can sum up the entire American primary process just by covering the race in California, he noted.
Michael Anfrol of France’s Channel 1 said his film of Reagan on horseback will be used in a five-minute feature to be broadcast June 4 or 5 in Paris. The four-person French crew planned to follow Reagan three or four days, then spend a day with each of the Democratic contenders.
Why so much emphasis on Reagan?
Ford isn’t doing much campaigning in California, explained Lars Ove Johansson, a reporter for Swedish Broadcasting Corp.
Johansson — plus other national and foreign reporters queried by the Telegram-Tribune — said Reagan seems to have a good chance of winning the Republican nomination from Ford. But they said Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter probably can beat either Ford or Reagan.
“The theme of this election is anti-Washington, and either Carter or Reagan appeals more to people who don’t like politicians than does Ford,” Johansson said.
“Some of the Eastern (U.S.) press are very hard on Carter, but that only makes him more appealing to people who don’t like the Eastern establishment,” explained Frank Rutter of the Vancouver (B.C.) Sun.
Among the “establishment” reporters were Pulitzer Prize winner Mary McGrory of the Washington Post and network television reporters Barry Sarafin, Cassy Mackin and Frank Reynolds.
Michael Reese, substitute man for Newsweek, looked rather unimpressed by the entire ordeal. When asked what Saturday’s topic on the press bus (and cattle truck-turned-press-bus) was, he said, “We wanna go home.”
